


Baby Steps

by fruity_cj



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, theyre just swimming bro that’s it i swear, wtf do i tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:29:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29811912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruity_cj/pseuds/fruity_cj
Summary: Skeppy invites Bad to bathe with him in a lake. When he discovers he can’t swim, he takes it upon himself to teach his friend.
Relationships: Skeppy/Badboyhalo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 93





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> hi so i wrote this until like 2 am so pretend it isn’t kinda poorly written lmao i hope u enjoy tho ;o)

By Skeppy’s cavern was a large and deep lake where the moonlight would softly glow across the water. He often went there to bathe after days or even weeks of dust buildup, washing every bit of grime off his crystal skin until he could see his face in its reflective surface. 

Ever since Bad had met him, he found this fascinating, especially since Skeppy had initially invited him to join him. 

The Nether didn’t exactly have the right conditions for a good bath, so Bad wasn’t used to being so clean. When he first joined Skeppy in that lake, he found it so strange and uncomfortable. He already hated water due to how cold it was in comparison to the heat of the Nether, and he had never taken his clothes off in front of someone else, not to mention he couldn’t swim in such a deep lake.

“Can’t I just wet a banner and wipe the dirt off?” Bad had suggested in protest, scared of being undressed in front of his new (at the time) friend.

“But that’s nowhere _close_ to the feeling of all the dirt just drifting away with the flow of the water, Bad!” Skeppy refuted. “It’s an experience, I’m telling you; you’re missing out, I swear.”

Of course, Bad didn’t want to be wrong! He’d never hear the end of it, which was a bit irritating, but it was what made Skeppy so charming. He inevitably gave in and agreed, but only if Skeppy looked away and didn’t look below the surface of the water. Not that he would have, anyway; when he took baths, Skeppy closed his eyes and let the water wash away his worries, peacefully meditating. Even then, Bad couldn’t help but feel so exposed. At least they were on the shore, so he wouldn’t have to swim.

“This is embarrassing, Skeppy,” he complained.

 _“Shhhh…”_ Skeppy whispered, “just let the water do the talking.”

“Water doesn’t talk, Skeppy!”

“Maybe it will if you let it. Now be quiet and enjoy your bath.” Just like that, Skeppy was back to his peaceful state, while Bad was stuck feeling awkward. He looked up, the moon meeting his gaze. It was perfectly full, shining in all its glory. One thing Bad loved about the overworld was the stars and moon. They twinkled and sparkled in the deep violet sky, filling him with wonder. They were a reminder of just how divine the rewards of trying new things and exploring new places would be. 

Bad looked back at Skeppy, who took a silent breath and let his chest rise. 

“Hey, Bad,” he muttered. Bad found himself startled.

“Y-yes?”

“Aren’t you going to go underwater?”

“What? No, I’m just going to sit here and… swim around, I guess.”

“So how are you going to wash your hair?” Skeppy asked, flipping his eyes open to settle a sharp gaze onto Bad.

“Uh, I don’t think that my hair could even be washed. I don’t think it has, um… the right consistency.”

 _“Consistency?!”_ Skeppy repeated loudly, his previous peace completely abandoned in favor of expressing his shock.

“Texture, texture! You know what I meant, you silly muffinhead! I’m not sure we know how each other’s hair works, what with me being a demon and you being a golem.” Skeppy frowned, then began to swim towards Bad, who tensed up. A hair ran through his hands, delicately inspecting its every detail. Bad felt his cheeks flush. 

“Oh, come on. It’s not even that bad, you could wash it.” He grabbed Bad’s wrists and began to pull him away from the edge of the lake, but Bad hesitated and snapped his wrists away.

“Wait, no! I… I can't swim, Skeppy.”

“You can’t?” he repeated, his snarky attitude turning to disappointment, maybe even concern.

“There’s no water in the Nether, remember? And I can’t swim in lava, so the most I can do is just waddle through hip-deep ponds. Don’t you know that’s why I use so many boats?”

“Oh, that makes sense now.” Skeppy looked away, backing up a bit. Awkward silence filled the air. Then, Skeppy perked up and approached Bad again. “Hey, remember what I said about water talking?”

“Yeah, I still don’t know what you mean by that.”

“Maybe you just need a translator. How about I teach you how to swim, or at least just float?”

“Wait, right now?! It’s the middle of the night, Skeppy!”

“Well, no shit, but that’s fine.”

“Hey, language!”

“Geez, sorry! But my offer still stands. It doesn’t take much, anyway. Come on, Bad.” 

Bad peeked over Skeppy’s shoulder to look at the center of the lake. He could see the rippling reflection of the white moon, hiding every block worth of water at the bottom of the lake. He was scared, to say the least.

“Um, okay. I’ll try.”

“Hell yeah! Alright, grab onto my shoulders. It’ll definitely be awkward with your height, but it’ll work out the farther from shore we get.”

“Okay, just promise not to let go of me…”

“Dude, I won’t. You can trust me on this, alright?”

“Alright.”

Skeppy began to float across the water, Bad following him as they got further from the shore. They went from Bad’s safe spot at a three-block depth over to a four-block depth, where Bad’s toes began to slip away from the floor. The two slowly drifted towards a five-block depth, and suddenly Bad felt himself panicking.

 _“S-Skeppy!_ I’m not sure I can do this…!”

“You can, you can do it! Just try to kick your feet a little when you feel yourself sink, but not too hard.” Bad took a deep breath and tried to do as Skeppy said, eventually finding a kick pattern that kept their heads at the same level. Once Skeppy knew he was stable, he moved further down the lake, eventually passing a six-block depth, then a seven-block depth, then eight, then nine…

Before either man knew it, they were floating openly in the lake, so far from the middle yet barely close to the edge. Bad turned towards the edge, spotting the torches in Skeppy’s cavern and noticing how far it was. He gulped and turned back towards Skeppy himself.

“Am I doing good?” he asked shakily.

“Yeah, really good. You wanna go further?”

“No, not really,” Bad chuckled nervously. Skeppy giggled, keeping them still. Feet kicked gently, movement weighted by the water. Bad’s hands moved from Skeppy’s shoulders down to his arms, where he was met with Skeppy’s hands, which began to hold his wrists.

“You’re doing great, Bad.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

Bad smiled. He was actually floating in water instead of nearly drowning in it.

“Do you want to let go of me?”

“Will you save me if I start drowning?”

“My God, you’re such a drama queen! You won’t drown, Bad.”

“Well, you never know, Skeppy!”

They laughed. 

“Yes, I will save you if you start drowning. Just grab onto me if you start sinking or something, I’ll catch you.” Bad took his word for it and took a hand off his arm, adjusting to the shift in weight, then removed the other arm, which he immediately regretted. He quickly felt himself starting to sink, yelling as he instinctively reached out and clung to Skeppy.

“Okay, so I’m _not_ letting go! That’s- that’s _good! Great!”_ Bad cried as Skeppy cackled, ruining their balance as he shook with laughter.

“You… you consider that _good,_ did I hear that right?!”

“Skeppy! Skeppy, we’re gonna sink!”

“Are we, now! Haha… _ahahahaha!!”_

 _“SKEPPY!_ Watch it!”

“J-just… just gimme a second…! Ohohoh, my God, this is the funniest shit that’s happened to me all day! You scream like a little girl, Bad.”

“Language, and get it together before we drown! Help me get back already…”

“Aw, come on. We haven’t gotten to wash our hair yet.”

“Huh? How are we gonna-“

“Hold your breath.”

_“W-wait, Skeppy, no-!”_

Bad had little time to react as Skeppy sucked in a breath and dunked them both underwater. His eyes were shut, his cheeks were puffed, and he was tense. He reluctantly opened an eye and spotted Skeppy, hair wavy in the water, smiling widely at him in the darkness. Bubbles of air escaped his nose, which Bad copied, teaching him how to hold his breath without feeling like he was going to explode. He opened both his eyes, noticing the way the light from the moon above cast onto Skeppy’s face and body. It was hard to see, but he could still make out all the shapes coming from the water and Skeppy’s geometrical forms. He found it astonishing. A smile formed on his face. 

Bad quickly found himself out of breath, going to suck in air before realizing that instead of air, he was inhaling water. Discomfort and pain quickly found its way into his throat, alarming Skeppy, who hoisted him up to the surface. They gasped, Bad hacking up all the water he accidentally breathed in. He gagged and choked, Skeppy simply offering back pats and circle rubs as support. Eventually, he was no longer coughing... that hard, that is.

“You… you okay?” Skeppy questioned anxiously.

“That was stupid of me.”

“Haha, yeah. You’re, uh, not exactly supposed to do that.”

“Can we go back-“ Cough. “Back to the shore?”

“Absolutely.” Skeppy and Bad started towards the edge of the lake, legs paddling gently yet rushed. Bad’s throat began to burn, his poor decision’s consequences hitting him hard. He nearly sighed in relief when he felt his feet hit the floor, letting go of Skeppy and quickly rushing towards the pile of clothes and folded banners. They made really good towels, unsurprisingly. He grabbed one and started to dry his hair, mimicking Skeppy’s way of doing it. 

“So how was your first ever water bath, Bad?” Skeppy asked him, catching up and reaching for his own banner.

“Fun,” Bad replied, patting his face down.

“Really? You’re not kidding?”

“Yeah, I actually hated it, and I hate hanging out with you… Of course I’m not kidding, silly! It was nice to learn how to swim- or, at least sort of. Maybe next time you can teach me how to get around on my own.”

“Next time?”

“I- well… if you want me to join you again, I could…?”

“If I’m being honest, that sounds great! Maybe you’ll get to see what’s so relaxing about just kicking back and enjoying the water sometime.”

“Yeah, I hope I get to see what it is you like so much.” Bad climbed out of the water and wrapped the banner around his waist, turning to Skeppy once it was fully tied. “Maybe I’ll be as much of a water appreciator… as… you?” When Bad looked back down at Skeppy, he had hidden his face with his banner. “Hey, Skeppy, what’s wrong?”

“Put your clothes back on.”

“Oh, _now_ you’re embarrassed, huh?”

“Just put some goddamn pants on, holy shit!” Skeppy exclaimed. Bad giggled, grabbing his pile of clothes.

“Language.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi this was so fun to write even tho it took a while skephalo dynamic is so poggers anyways hope u enjoyed reading uhhh yeah
> 
> edit: did a recent revision and fixed a few mistakes lmao


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